“He felt that now’s the time to take a break”: Christian Horner on Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull

Red Bull Racing CEO Christian Horner has claimed that Adrian Newey is leaving the team because he wants to take a break after a relentless run in the sport. The Briton revealed that the engineer has been in discussions to part ways with the Milton Keynes squad for more than a year.

Newey will stop his F1 duties and divert his attention to the RB17 Hyper Car project. He was even at the pitwall in Miami for the weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Horner denied reports suggesting that Newey's impending exit is due to internal struggles within the Red Bull Racing team. He said:

“He’s been hard at it the last 30 years… seven years with Williams, seven years with McLaren, and he’s done the best part of 20 years with ourselves. Just speaking with him, he’s reached a point where the team’s in great, great shape, we’re performing at such a high level, and he feels that now’s the right for him to step away, take a bit of time out.”

Horner added:

“There was discussion pretty much 12 months ago that it might have been the time for Adrian to look at stepping back, so I know it’s been on his mind for some time. It’s been something we’ve been having to plan for. And what better time to go than with the run of form that we’ve had over the last couple of seasons, with the way that the team is performing? He’s stepping aside, not leaving the company, but stepping aside from Formula 1 while we’re right at the top of our game.”

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Christian Horner laments Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull Racing team and reflects on past success

Christian Horner admitted that Adrian Newey will be missed on the pitwall and within the Red Bull Racing team. However, the 50-year-old team principal felt that the aerodynamic wizard has earned his sabbatical from the sport.

The Red Bull Racing team chief said:

“He’s a formidable engineer. He’s always scratching for that last bit of performance... he challenges, he pushes the boundaries. Most of all, I’ll miss the camaraderie. We’ve shared a lot of highs and lows over the last 18 years, and he’s been sitting next to me on the pit wall throughout that time. There’s been 117 victories and quite a few world championships along the way.”

He added:

“We’ll be very sad to see him go, he’s been an immense part of our team over the last pretty much two decades. It’ll be with sadness that we see him depart but also everything..the show goes on. I think he’s earned that right to have a bit of time out, spend some time with his wife and family, and that’s what he’s very keen to do. Then if he decides that he wants to have another run at F1, who knows?”

Commenting on Newey’s dislike for regulation changes, Horner said:

“The ironic thing is, Adrian’s always hated every single regulation change, and 2026 is a unique one because it’s both chassis and engine regs, but it’s a very different world these days with the cost cap and the restrictions that we have on resource.”

Red Bull Racing’s technical department has been led by Pierre Wache, with senior engineers like Paul Monoghan. Newey’s departure will be emotional for the Milton Keynes squad, but it is probably something they saw coming.